476 



ME. H. N. ETDLET ON THE 



I have said, they are West -Indian in their affinities, and it is a 

 striking fact that the marine fauna and. flora are mainly West- 

 Indian, while at least one of the plants {Ipomoea Tuba) whose 

 seeds are known to be constantly drifted about at sea, and 

 thus carried from place to place, is also only known from the 

 "West Indies. Another fact of interest in connection with 

 this sea-travelling fauna, if I may use the expression, is that 

 almost all the species noted occur on all the islands suitable for 

 their existence. Thus, on Eat Island the Bulimus Bidleyi, the 

 AmpJiishcsna, and Skink are common on St. Michael's Mount ; the 

 Skink is a large species, but the island, being a mere rocky peak, 

 is unsuited for the Amphishcejia. 



On Platform Island the lizard and several terrestrial Mollusca 

 were found, while at the same time almost all the animals of 

 more recent introduction were absent from these localities, just 

 as is the case in the distribution of the plants. I believe, in 

 fact, that this part of the fauna and flora was established on the 

 island before it was broken up into the little archipelago of rocks 

 and islets of whicii Fernando Noronha now consists*. Perhaps 

 even this portion of the fauna and flora was introduced previously 

 to the deposition of the basalt over the masses of phonolite 

 which form as it were the skeleton outline of the island. 



MAMMALIA. 



No indigenous Mannnals are to be found on these islands, and 

 notwithstanding their proximity to the mainland, where Bats 

 are abundant, no Bat of any species was observed by us, nor 

 had the convicts ever seen any. Eats and Mice are exceed- 

 ingly common. The Eat (llus rattus) is here much paler 

 than usual, and generally of a grey colour, w^hile albinos are 

 sometimes met with. It frequents the melon-fields and the 

 tops of the cocoanut-trees, and is very destructive. The com- 

 mon House-Mouse, M. muscuhis, is even more abundant, and 

 has suggested the name Eat Island (Ilha do Eatta), where it is 



* On reference to A. Vespucci's description of the place, it will be found 

 that he speaks of it as one island, so the breaking-up into an archipelago can 

 only have taken place within the last 400 years. 



